This is where we will link our final product and draft responses to the three questions that appear at the end of the A.2.3 Rubric:
Why did you pick this particular topic?
We were both looking for a tool that would be immediately beneficial for our staffs. Carol teaches IT at the Middle School level, and Kathleen is a High School Librarian. Carol was particularly drawn to LucidChart because one of her colleagues had just suggested that they use it to collaborate on a project while he was home sick. After previewing the tool, Kathleen could see that it would have immediate benefits for her colleagues as well. It is perfect for using on Interactive White Boards (IWBs), and Kathleen has been asked on several occasions to develop some PD about how to use IWBs in the classroom. LucidChart has the added benefit of allowing students to collaborate, with possibilities of global collaboration, beyond the classroom. Coincidentally, both Kathleen's school and Carol's school have set strategic goals of becoming connected learning communities. A tool such as LucidChart can help them reach that goal.
Why did you choose this particular technology tool to share this work?
We experimented with several tools (Jing, Slideshare, Quicktime video uploaded to YouTube). We found that Google Docs was the best choice due to the nature of our international collaboration. It was important that whatever tool we chose would open and load easily, even given slow internet speeds for Kathleen in Kuwait. After our initial Skype conversation on Feb. 22, Kathleen found herself going to Google Docs to save a script and bibliography that she had been working on for her part of the project. At the same time, that Kathleen was logged in to her Google Docs account, Carol sent a link to our presentation on Google Docs. We had not previously discussed this, but were both intuitively working in that space at the same time. Great minds think alike.
How will you disseminate this tutorial or inservice? (This can be actual or theoretical.)
Kathleen is of two minds on this. She feels that the tutorial could stand alone if sent out as a link to all staff. However, it would be more beneficial to invite staff to an inservice and allow them to sit at computers, try the program for themselves, and ask questions. If teachers had time to collaborate in subject area- or grade level teams, it would ensure that they could walk away from the in-service with a product they could immediately implement into their classroom instruction. Carol agrees that staff members would receive greater benefit from the tutorial if they actually spent some time working in the same room with other colleagues in departments or teams. It was the process of creating various graphic organizers that helped Kathleen and Carol feel comfortable enough with the tool to feel ready to share it with colleagues. In turn, their colleagues would benefit from creating LucidChart projects themselves before asking students to do so. The link to the tutorial could be sent out to staff after the workshop so that everyone had access to it when working on their own as well.
The 4th question on the A.2.3 Rubric is to be answered by each partner individually. Each person will turn in an individual rubric.
"Getting Started with LucidChart," a virtual tutorial by Carol N. and Kathleen McKim can be viewed here on Google Docs.
In case you want to write it down for later, save this link:
http://tinyurl.com/78fabre
Check it out on SlideShare here.
This is where we will link our final product and draft responses to the three questions that appear at the end of the A.2.3 Rubric:
We were both looking for a tool that would be immediately beneficial for our staffs. Carol teaches IT at the Middle School level, and Kathleen is a High School Librarian. Carol was particularly drawn to LucidChart because one of her colleagues had just suggested that they use it to collaborate on a project while he was home sick. After previewing the tool, Kathleen could see that it would have immediate benefits for her colleagues as well. It is perfect for using on Interactive White Boards (IWBs), and Kathleen has been asked on several occasions to develop some PD about how to use IWBs in the classroom. LucidChart has the added benefit of allowing students to collaborate, with possibilities of global collaboration, beyond the classroom. Coincidentally, both Kathleen's school and Carol's school have set strategic goals of becoming connected learning communities. A tool such as LucidChart can help them reach that goal.
We experimented with several tools (Jing, Slideshare, Quicktime video uploaded to YouTube). We found that Google Docs was the best choice due to the nature of our international collaboration. It was important that whatever tool we chose would open and load easily, even given slow internet speeds for Kathleen in Kuwait. After our initial Skype conversation on Feb. 22, Kathleen found herself going to Google Docs to save a script and bibliography that she had been working on for her part of the project. At the same time, that Kathleen was logged in to her Google Docs account, Carol sent a link to our presentation on Google Docs. We had not previously discussed this, but were both intuitively working in that space at the same time. Great minds think alike.
Kathleen is of two minds on this. She feels that the tutorial could stand alone if sent out as a link to all staff. However, it would be more beneficial to invite staff to an inservice and allow them to sit at computers, try the program for themselves, and ask questions. If teachers had time to collaborate in subject area- or grade level teams, it would ensure that they could walk away from the in-service with a product they could immediately implement into their classroom instruction. Carol agrees that staff members would receive greater benefit from the tutorial if they actually spent some time working in the same room with other colleagues in departments or teams. It was the process of creating various graphic organizers that helped Kathleen and Carol feel comfortable enough with the tool to feel ready to share it with colleagues. In turn, their colleagues would benefit from creating LucidChart projects themselves before asking students to do so. The link to the tutorial could be sent out to staff after the workshop so that everyone had access to it when working on their own as well.
The 4th question on the A.2.3 Rubric is to be answered by each partner individually. Each person will turn in an individual rubric.